For years, high rollers from China have flouted their country’s ban on gambling by getting their fix online. Livestreamed games of baccarat, roulette, poker and more feature young women sitting behind tables, dealing cards and spinning wheels. While the players are in China, the croupiers on their screens are often far away in studios in the Philippine capital Manila, the Wall Street Journal reported. Filipino officials say many of these operations are also run and staffed by Chinese nationals.
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The Philippine central bank kept its policy rate unchanged as it continues efforts to tame inflation and support the country’s currency, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona said Thursday that the central bank maintained its benchmark overnight reverse repurchase rate at 6.50%. It also held its benchmark lending rate steady at 7.00%. The country’s consumer-price index for May rose 3.9% from a year earlier, edging higher from a 3.8% increase in April. That is near the upper end of the central bank’s inflation target range of 2%-4%.
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